Saturday, March 11, 2017

The only way this world is going to survive is if
we realize that we are one, inter-related world. We have the internet that
allows us to communicate with anyone in the world… and wiki-leaks to make sure
that there are no secrets. The pollution
created in one city, or one nation, affects the air and the climate of every
person on earth. And we have nuclear
weapons that can reach and destroy every corner of the planet. Isolationism
is not an option. So those who
are afraid that if we let the “other” in…into our country, into our hearts,
into our legislative decisions, you might lose one of your 50” TVs, get over it.
We are one world, like it or not and we’re not going to go back to the way
things were. The only way humankind is
going to go backwards is if we blow each other to smithereens. And then there
might not be anyone left.

I’m not saying that
we should be one nation with one world leader, not at all. We can remain separate nations, people with
distinct cultures and religious practices.
But we, the people, have to elect leaders who realize that we are one,
small, inter-related world and the decisions they make must take that into consideration. Business
leaders, maybe even more so, must recognize the connectivity between their
decisions and the well-being of, not just their shareholders, but everyone even
remotely influenced by those decisions.

I don’t deny that there is suffering in this country. Of course there is, and we have to look at
how we can alleviate that suffering, with long-term measures. Maybe it would be nice for the coal miners if
they could have their jobs back rather than having to go through job-retraining
but that’s not what this country, or the world, needs. We need alternative sources of energy that
aren’t going to ravage our water supplies and pollute the air. There are certainly sources of revenue in
this country that can finance long-term solutions to the industrial and
environmental problems we are facing.
Just one of those billionaires who now occupy the Whitehouse could
probably make a huge contribution to putting people back to work while at the
same time helping to clean up the environment. But they’d have to stop acting
like ignorant fools and denying what is obvious to the rest of the world.

We’re all going to have to
learn to think, feel and act globally because this is the world we have
made. Self-centered indifference and
militaristic aggression will not make our lives better, will only serve to fuel
hatred, endless war and acts of terrorism. Unless we
learn to respect each other; unless we have compassion for ALL our fellow men,
women and children; unless we recognize that we are all one family and our
neighbor’s needs are just as important as our own, WE WILL NOT SURVIVE.